Logan Forsythe

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John Logan Forsythe

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Biographical Information[edit]

Logan Forsythe was the last supplemental first-round pick of the 2008 amateur draft. He had starred in the 2007 Pan American Games.

Forsythe hit .527 as a high school senior but fell to .198 as a freshman in college. His sophomore year was a drastic change - he hit .347/.431/.556 with 18 steals. He joined the team USA college national team but was moved from his usual third base spot to the outfield due to the presence of Pedro Alvarez at third. Forsythe was a big surprise, hitting .309 to finish 4th on the team behind Josh Romanski, Alvarez and Brett Wallace. He was perhaps the best player in the 2007 Pan American Games, going 10 for 16 with 4 walks for a .700 OBP. He went 3 for 4 with the game-winning hit in a 2-1 win over Mexico in the semifinals before the US finished with a Silver Medal. He led the Pan Am Games in average. He was 2 for 9 with two walks in the 2007 World Port Tournament before a stress fracture in his foot ended his tournament early.

Forsythe was the 46th overall pick of the 2008 amateur draft, taken by the San Diego Padres. The choice was compensation for the loss of Mike Cameron to free agency. He was signed by scout Lane Decker for $835,000. On June 18, he made his pro debut for the Eugene Emeralds against the Boise Hawks. Forsythe struck out in 3 of 4 at-bats but doubled his other time up and scored.

Logan chose an appropriately dramatic time to his his first major league home run. On June 5, 2012, he connected for a solo shot into the upper deck in left off Steve Edlefsen of the San Francisco Giants to break a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the 9th at PETCO Park. He played 91 games that season, hitting .273/.343/.390 with 6 homers and 26 RBI while playing mainly at second base. He missed the start of 2013 because of plantar fascitis, only making his debut on June 10th. However, he made a splash that day, hitting a 445-foot homer off Julio Teheran of the Atlanta Braves in his first at-bat and added another hit and a walk as the Padres won, 7-6. He played 75 games, hitting .214 with 6 homers and 19 RBIs.

On January 22, 2014, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays with four other players, including P Brad Boxberger, in return for Jesse Hahn and Alex Torres. He played 110 games for Tampa Bay that season, mainly at second base and at DH, and hit .223 with 6 homers and 26 RBIs. Playing for the Rays on June 24, 2015, he broke a bid for a perfect game by Marco Estrada of the Toronto Blue Jays by beating out an 8th-inning ground ball to third base for a base hit. He played a career-high 153 games that year, hitting .281 with 33 doubles and 17 homers, with 69 runs and 68 RBIs. The season was good for an OPS+ of 123, making him one of the Rays' best offensive players. He was off to another hot start in 2016, hitting .308 with power in 29 games when he was hit by a pitch by the Seattle Mariners' Felix Hernandez on May 9th and suffered a hairline fracture of his shoulder blade. He was placed on the disabled list and was expected to miss around a month, returning on schedule on May 10th. He played 127 games for the Rays, hitting .264 with 20 homers and 52 RBIs.

On January 23, 2017, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for P Jose De Leon. His first season with the Dodgers was disappointing, event though he was the most-used player at second base, as he hit just .224 with 6 homers and 36 RBIs, well below the production of his previous two seasons in Tampa. He did better in the postseason, hitting .297 (11 for 37) as the Dodgers made it all the way to Game 7 of the World Series before bowing to the Houston Astros. In 2018, his production continued to be sub-par as he was hitting just .207 with 2 homers and 13 RBIs in 70 games when on July 31st he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in return for Brian Dozier, who was expected to take over his job as the Dodgers' starter at second base. Joining him on the way to the Midwest were two prospects, Luke Raley and Devin Smeltzer. On August 16th, he had a five-hit game for his new team to set a career high, leading the Twins to a 15-8 win over the Detroit Tigers. He had been red hot since changing teams, going 22 for 49 (.449) in his first two weeks.

Notable Achievements[edit]

  • 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2016)

Sources[edit]

Related Sites[edit]

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